Monoclonal antibodies

One of the ways we fight infection is to make antibodies. They help our immune system to recognise an infection if we are exposed to it again and to enable our body to deal with it quickly. Antibodies can be made in a laboratory and used to treat cancer.

Monoclonal antibodies are sometimes called targeted therapies because they work by 'targeting' specific proteins on the surface of the cells. They destroy the cancer by either:

triggering the body’s immune system to attack the cancer cell and can cause the cell to kill itself or

attaching a cancer drug or a radioactive substance to the antibody which delivers them directly to the cancer cell because they target those specific cells (targeted therapy).

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Macmillan Cancer Support, registered charity in England and Wales (261017), Scotland (SC039907) and the Isle of Man (604). A company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales company number 2400969. Isle of Man company number 4694F. Registered office: 89 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7UQ.